I have been told, do a blog.
I will try.
Try to post as often as I am able to and answer your comments

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Hide glue presentation

I often refers to my business partner Patrick Edwards as the glue guru.

Apart from the fact that I like the way it sounds, I must say he is the person that knows the best about hide glue I ever met.

We try to promote its use for couple reasons. It is not only because we are a preindustrial workshop but mainly because as restorer we can see the advantages it offers.  It stand mostly in one word. REVERSIBILITY.

As restorer, we are glad the glue used in period furniture is reversible, allowing for restoration, but sometime we curse yell and cry when a previous restorer did not use one of those wonderful reversible glue. The damage cause by those choices are often not ... reversible.

Another reason that makes us use those glues is that we value our efforts as cabinet maker. Nothing last forever and is accident immune. If the piece you made, with a lot of work and effort is not restorable then , you build a furniture for trash. I am not saying I think my pieces will be kept and worshiped in the next hundred year. I don't care I won't be there to see it. But at least if someone wants to keep it they will be able to

Here is the link to that real nice video

And this is the next one 

We also have a series of videos on our youtube channel on Old Brown Glue you will enjoy!


OBG #1 Introduction to Old Brown Glue, The liquid hide glue.




OBG #2 - Reversibility of liquid hide glue - Restauration, rehydration of animal glue.




OBG #3 - Veneering with Old Brown Glue, The liquid hide glue




OBG #4 - Simple repair with liquid hide glue, Old Brown Glue





OBG #5 - Vacuum bag veneering with Old Brown Glue




Save Your Hide - How to save your hot hide glue using the reversibility properties.





Pre-industrial workshop

Here is an article published 2 years ago if I recall

Have a look it is pretty well done


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On the lower level is the cabinet making and restoration workshop.
Upstair is the American School of French Marquetry and our marquetry workshop and french polish zone.

Woodshop news article

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Working on a Alphonse Mucha picture, I still haven't finished yet.

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Patrick Ewards cutting on the Chevalet de Marqueterie